Phoenixville man arrested in Chesco heroin crackdown

Chester County’s heroin trade suffered a major blow this week as law enforcement officials announced a coordinated crackdown on suspected dealers across the area.

The Chester County District Attorney’s Office Monday announced the arrest of 10 suspected heroin dealers for drug dealing in municipalities across the county. Officials said the arrests came as a result of a multi-agency investigation over the last year. Investigators identified drug dealing activity in Phoenixville, East Pikeland, West Goshen, New Garden, Avondale, and other locations in the county.

Law enforcement officials said the crackdown was aimed at reducing the deadly impact of heroin on the area’s young people.

“Chester County law enforcement is cracking down on heroin dealers,” said county District Attorney Tom Hogan. “Heroin does not discriminate – from Main Line suburbs to rural locations, heroin turns kids into hardcore addicts or sends them to an early grave. We are going to keep locking up these dealers until they understand that they should stay out of Chester County.”

The suspects were identified as Joseph McIntosh, 31, of Philadelphia; Westley Reed, 27, of Landenberg; Kristopher Peirson, 22, of West Grove; Kyle Kellner, 22, of London Grove; Andre Rivera, 27, of Avondale; John Anderson, 24, of Nottingham; Jose Guzman, 21, of Wilmington, Del.; William Jones, 26, of West Grove, Alejandro Guzman, 26, of Wilminton, Del.; and Jeffrey Gavin, 34, of Phoenixville.

The arrests came after municipal police departments, county law enforcement, and state police cooperated to identify drug dealing activity and crack down on suspected dealers. State police officials said the operation was designed to take an aggressive stance against the dangerous drug.

“The district attorney’s office has taken a hard line approach to fighting heroin in Chester County,” said Capt. William White, commander of Pennsylvania State Police’s Troop J. “They have made the arrest and prosecution of heroin dealers a priority and have, without hesitation, supported all law enforcement efforts. The Pennsylvania State Police are committed to working with the district attorney’s office to address this serious issue.”